Overview & Reviews

Kia Motors is a South Korean automaker that's relatively new to the United States. In its early years, Kia largely catered to budget-minded consumers with well-equipped vehicles priced below competing models. More recently, this growing brand has kept value a priority while also emphasizing technology and sportiness.

Founded in Korea in 1944, Kia started as a producer of steel tubing and bicycle parts. The company's name has its roots in the Chinese language, and means "to arise, to come up out of Asia." By the early 1950s, the company had produced Korea's first bicycle; by the latter part of the decade, Kia had branched out into motor scooters, with the rollout of the C100.

The 1960s saw Kia expanding its lineup to include motorcycles and three-wheeled cargo vehicles. Naturally, the next logical step was automobile production, and the company began moving in this direction in the early 1970s. By 1973, Kia had built a facility designed to make its automotive dreams a reality; its Sohari plant held the distinction of being Korea's first fully integrated automobile production facility, and went on to spawn Korea's first internal-combustion gasoline engine. A year later, Kia unveiled the Brisa, Korea's first passenger car. By the end of the decade, Kia's technology was being used to manufacture vehicles like the Peugeot 604 and the Fiat 132.

By the late '80s, Kia's lineup included new models like the Concord, Capital, Potentia and Pride. In 1987, Ford brought the Pride to U.S. shores, rebadging it as the Ford Festiva. Seven years later, Ford dealers got a replacement for the entry-level, subcompact Festiva in the form of another Kia constructed product, the Aspire.

Kia finally began selling vehicles in the U.S. under its own name in the early '90s, trumpeting its presence with the introduction of the compact Sephia. The car's rollout was gradual; in the early days of its production, the Sephia was only available in select Western states. By the mid-'90s, SUVs had emerged as a phenomenally popular and profitable vehicle segment. Kia responded with the 1995 Sportage, a compact SUV. By the end of the '90s, Kia's nationwide rollout was nearly complete.

Financial difficulties in the late '90s prevented Kia from expanding its lineup beyond those two models. Hyundai, South Korea's other major automaker, acquired the company in a merger in 1998.

Kia has been on a major upswing since its purchase by Hyundai, with improvements in build quality, performance and overall refinement. Reliability, previously a weak point, has also improved markedly and consumers' confidence was further bolstered by Kia's substantial warranty program. Today, Kia is on a dramatic upswing and offers a broad lineup of well-built coupes, sedans and crossovers that stand out for their value, performance and sporty styling.

User Reviews:

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  No CD player! - 2017 Kia Sportage
  By Dawn Boyer - June 12 - 3:07 am

  The turbo takes off like a rocket. Like zero to sixty in five seconds. Or maybe faster. Only downside is that there is no CD player. Drivers side door difficult to reach to close when it is fully open. Passenger door has a nice handle.

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  Back Again - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By bobby83 - June 11 - 3:22 am

  I wrote one of the first reviews on this car in Jan 2010. At that time, it was great. Since that time, I wish I never made the purchase. One fine day, all of the oil leaked out due to a bad seal. After 3 attempts to repair, finally got fixed. Now, about every five to six days Im blessed with check engine light for a misalligned cam shaft or crank shaft. How nice. And the rattles that have developed - about six as best I can count. The seats rattle, the rear hatch rattles. the dasboard rattles. And the ride is noisy when driving on anything other than smooth roads. Pulls to right, had fixed twice, to no avail. Bloothooth - no good. Gas milage is bad. Never again. Goodbye.

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  my optima - 2002 Kia Optima
  By anothermakettle - June 10 - 10:00 am

  I absolutely love my car. It is by far the favorite of all the vehicles I have owned. I would buy another if I were in need of a car. I have an optima, my sister has a spectra, mt other sis has a optima, and my best friend has a rio. I recommended them all to the kia dealer. We are all extremely satisfied with our cars.

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  My KIA - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By stallion326 - June 10 - 10:00 am

  I have a blast in my kia. It is by far the best bang for my buck yet. Besides the check engine light coming on for just about any reason, I do not have enough good things to say. It is still as quiet and sturdy today as the day I bought it. GREAT SUV!!!

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  I love my green Alien car! - 2011 Kia Soul
  By Marisol - June 9 - 2:05 pm

  I recently bought a 2011 Kia soul, I really love the color( green) its definitely an eye catcher, so far I have been complimented by friends and family on how cute the car is, I have only had it for about a week so far it has been great and i hope it continues to be! I love the way it drives and the lights on the speaker are so cool!

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  Dead Dead Battery! - 2014 Kia Sorento
  By Lee - June 9 - 8:48 am

  I have a 2014 Kia Sorento SXL with 13,000 miles now. After having this car for 2 weeks go to start it and dead battery. Now 18 months later this problem has happened 7 times! Kia road service has to come out and jump it. Has been towed to dealership to check it out, told everything is fine. Im just not driving it enough to keep it charged. Went on vacation for six days and left car at airport and came back to a dead battery. When I say dead I mean DEAD. No lights etc...at all. After 7 times and getting no where with Kia service dept. I dont know what to do other then trade it in on another make! Any help or ideas why this is happening would help.

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  Glad We Got It... - 2005 Kia Optima
  By MLegend - June 8 - 8:23 pm

  So far, so good. The very first week, we took it on a round trip of 500 miles and it averaged right at 30 mpg. That should increase somewhat as the engine breaks in. We feel we got a good deal on the car. The warranty and extras are what sold me as compared to what the local Toyota dealer was willing to give us. With the price of gas continuing on an upward spiral, were glad we got the 4-cylinder engine. Its got enough zip for us.

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  my Kia - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By paul buckshi - June 8 - 5:03 pm

  I was going to purchase either a Ford Escape or a Chevy Blazer. I test drove both, liked the Escape. There is a Kia dealer across the road, went there for a laugh. After driving and pricing the Kia I quit laughing. The Kia handled better, looked better and had a 60,000 mile warranty. Kia was over $2000 less and has more options. 16 months & 21,000 miles later, not one problem. Great suv, will purchase another.

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  Steering and Milage are Horrible - 2013 Kia Optima
  By whd13b - June 7 - 10:19 pm

  First I must start with, the car looks beautiful. Remington Red is a real show stopper. Seats are super comfortable and interior spacious. Needs more storage compartments. Gas wise, horrible. Im averaging 23 mpg, and Eco changes nothing but the way it drives. Moving on to steering. Refuses to stay on center while driving. Pulls to the left, then when straightened out, goes to the right. Back and forth, but always over steers to the left when on a center plane surface. Very exhausting when driving on the straight run highways off highway, almost caused a few accidents veering into the opposite lane while taking my eyes off the road for a split second to turn AC on or equivalent. Bad!

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  24/35 MPG? ...Yeah right! - 2011 Kia Optima
  By kookoo4cars - June 7 - 8:33 pm

  Purchase my Kia Optima EX 9 weeks ago. In this day of $4-5 gallons of gas, I bypassed the turbo engine with the idea that it would just make me want to drive faster burning more fuel. With the posted MPG on the sticker of 24/35, I was expecting somewhere around 27-28 combined. What Im getting after 9 fill ups is more like 19 MPG - which is a big disappointment. So now I have a car with no power and no great fuel savings either. The 186 HP engine is a slug - feels like the pistons are going to come through the hood, and the car sounds like a go-kart. Otherwise, a pretty decent car for the money. If youre considering it, go turbo - if only to get you out of danger while merging onto highways